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Wake redistricting proposal elicits outrage, support (WRAL-TV) -- Fifteen people spoke out Monday on legislation that would change how members of the Wake County Board of Commissioners are elected, with most saying they were disgusted by the partisan nature of the bill and suggesting that the proposal be studied further before any action is taken.http://www.wral.com/wake-redistricting-proposal-elicits-outrage-support/14502834/

Tweedledee and Tweedledum are two of 47 US Republican Senators who signed a letter this week questioning the integrity of the US and of President Obama. Which is why we're having Two-Word Tuesday a bit early this week.

First they quietly decided to keep the tax break for homeowners whose banks cut their debts. The legislature's staff thinks this pulls $14 million out of state revenues. Then a Republican on the House floor persuaded most to keep the tax break for the charitable donations. And finally a Democrat got them agree to an amendment to protect the the tax break for college expenses.

Now the bill goes back to the Senate, and time is running out. This bill needs to pass soon so taxpayers can accurately figure out before the April 15 tax-filing deadline how much additional income taxes their Republican Senators want them to pay. Will the Senate give in to these tax loopholes for the middle and lower class?

Bolding mine. Those revenues haven't been collected since 2007, back when mortgage loan forgiveness was a relatively rare occurrence. So that $14 million never existed, it's merely a projection of what they thought they could squeeze out of distressed homeowners. That being said, if the Senate will go along with leaving these deductions in place, I'll try to keep my mouth shut about revenues. For a couple of days, anyway.

This movie has been banned in China. Sort of like the words "climate change" have been banned in Florida. Sort of like "science" has been banned in North Carolina. Ah well. All the banning in the world won't stop the disastrous impacts humans are having on our planet.

If you're following the ethical trials and tribulations of our hapless governor, you already know that he's not smart enough to fill out a disclosure form that thousands of others have managed to complete just fine. But "not smart enough" is just a red herring. The truth is, McCrory has been trying to cover up his ties to special interests (most notably, Duke Energy) throughout his career. What most people don't seem to understand is that Duke Energy simply paid Pat McCrory to run for governor for more than a decade. His only job was glad-handing and ass-kissing.

RALEIGH -- Progress NC Action will file a second formal ethics complaint with the State Ethics Commission on Monday morning, further outlining Gov. Pat McCrory’s pattern of deceptive omissions of clear conflicts of interest from his ethics forms. As the complaint shows, Gov. McCrory has failed to properly disclose a number of luxury hotel stays at partisan political conventions which were paid for by the Republican Governors Association. These summits were held behind closed doors at some of the country’s most luxurious and expensive hotels, with unknown corporate donors. Despite Gov. McCrory’s repeated claims that he filled out his Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) forms correctly, the governor now admits that he should have disclosed the trips as gifts.

McCrory’s admission that he should have disclosed the gift of luxury hotel stays comes after he failed to report ownership of Duke Energy stock after the Dan River coal ash spill, and his failure to report over $185,000 in income from Tree.com during his first year as governor in 2013. McCrory made more money from Tree.com in 2013 than he did as governor.

Progress NC Action will file the second complaint around 10:30am Monday at the State Ethics Commission in Raleigh. The group will also deliver more than 11,000 petition signatures asking Gov. McCrory to allow the Ethics Commission to make its investigation public.

Even with the leading "Deputy Assistant", the title "Governor" is wholly inappropriate for Pat McCrory. He doesn't govern; all he does is perpetually campaign.

There's the daily stream of spin, lies and propaganda, but perhaps the most disgusting of Pat's behaviors is his near constant fundraising. He knows the people with the cash, and he'll do most anything to get them to give a lot of that cash to him.

Creating a budget for the state of North Carolina is one of the most important acts of governing.

Murry Bubar was shocked this year when he did the taxes for his ex-wife, as he always does, and found that she owed $104 under the new system.

His ex-wife, Barbara Bubar, is 79, blind and lives in the Alzheimer’s unit of an assisted-living facility. Bubar’s income from Social Security amounted to $9,300 last year. “This is the first time in years she has had to pay any state taxes,” Bubar said. “Her medical bills are more than her income.”

By all rights, this shameless exploitation of older North Carolinians should prove to be the undoing of the GOP, since this demographic votes in numbers and usually a high percentage choose Republican candidates. But old habits are hard to break, especially for the Fox News viewers who have a fresh anti-Obama scandal shoved down their throats daily. Speaking of somebody who needs something shoved down his throat:

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